Young pine cone time! (Pine Pollen Time!)

Short post because of the holiday weekend.

Yes it is spring and it is that time of year to keep an eye out for the young pine cones popping out.
Remember their are 100's of variety's around the world. They all  look a little different but all are part of the same family and have mostly the same uses and growth patterns.


So you are now asking why does it matter.....well...

PINE POLLEN!! They start showing at the end of April the and though out May. It is a once a year thing.

Most people know about the female seed-bearing pine cones.  But did you know about the yellow  (sometimes, redish, green or brown depending on the species) male pollen bearing cones?? They are small and are often over looked because of this.

And yes you can add them to you dishes they are tasty and delicious. But more important is their medical use. 

Harvest these bad boys and separate them from the rest of the tip...having a bowl of what looks like strange berry's.

• Tincture

Fill a quart glass jar with these pollen berry's.
Then pour vodka (or any other booze, but vodka is preferred some people do a mix of water and vodka ) to the top
Shake that jar up........ and in a month strain out the cones and what you have left is the extract!
Or you can save the berry in a zip lock and make the Tincture at another time. 

Powder

• Place the pine berry's in a bag and shake and shake and you will have 100% pine pollen at the bottom of the bag. Place a a cookie sheet so it drys out and bottle or bag it. This can be added to teas and oil and alcohol mixes, depending on what you plan on using it for.
  

• You can dehydrate the Tincture the same way you would any other extract. Boil it down and then spread the thick paste in a dehydrator.  Or spread out on cookie sheets and sun dehydrate. Although this method may reduce the effectiveness of the pollen.

This is the best way to have a concentrated and preserved product form this plant for use  all year long.

Pine extract is antimicrobial, antiseptic, antifungal, anti-neuralgic, and anti-rheumatic properties.
It is a good decongestant and expectorant for respiratory ailments. It is a natural anti inflammatory which helps relive pain.

It also

• Ease muscular stiffness and rheumatism as a rub
• Relax the body when added in bat
• Ease muscular stiffness and rheumatism as a rub
•  Stimulate healthy metabolism helping boost activity levels
• Added to you tea it helps eliminate excess water, uric acid, salt, and fat through urination
• Neutralize free radicals with its rich antioxidant capacity

And Many other uses which I will touch base on at my Preppers herbs and weed site next week 

Song for this post is going to be Ben Howard - Old Pine